Radiator-tube joint



' July 8, 1924.

'A. E. L. HENDERSON RADIATOR TUBE JOINT Filed April 9. 1921 Q 9 O O O Q O OQ O O Patented July 8, 1924.

'A'LBERT E. II- HENJQEBSON, OF'CHAR-LOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA.

.BJADIATOR TUBE JOINT.

Application filed April 9, 1921.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT El LI LHENF DERSON, a citizen ,ofthe United States, re-,

siding at Charlotte, in the county of M'ecklenburg and State of North Carolina, have lnvented certain new and useful Improve ments in Radiator-Tube Joints of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates particularly to radiators for automobiles, but my improvements may be embodied. in other means forcooling a heated. fluid. WVhenappliedto a radiator of the general kind commonly used.

for. automobiles, I employ a casing preferably made of sheet metal, tightlyclosed against lcakageand through which the hot water from'the engine casing or jacket passes. Tubes for the passage of air through the casing are arranged suitable distances apart in the casing and their opposite ends are secured to the front and back parts of the casing in a novel way without the use of solder. To do this, grooves are formed in the casing to receive the beaded ends of the tubes which are so bent and crimped as to engage in said grooves water-ti ht and firmly hold the tubes against enc wise movement in either direction. Preferably the tubes are polygonal, such as hexagonal in shape. In order to hold the front and back parts of the casing while the tubes are being attached and also at all other times, I employ spacing bars which extend from front to back of the casing and are firmly secured there- In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of part of an automobile showing the relatlon of the radiator with the engine.

Figure 2 is a front v1ew of theraohator, with parts in sectlon and parts broken away.

Figure 8 shows a section on the line 33- of Fig. 2.

Figure 4 is a detail View, illustrating particularly how the tubes are attached to the casing.

Figure 5 is a sectional view, showing in another way how the tubes are applied and attached to the casing.

Figure 6 is a detail, sectional View, illustrating how the ends of the tubes are secured to the casing.

In Fig. 1 a radiator is indicated at A, and an engine at B. C indicates the top hose Serial No. 460,135.

connect-ion and-D the bottom hose connection.' E indicates the ca'ppedfilling orifice, and '13 indicates a fan, arranged in the usual way.

The radiator casing is preferably. made of sheet metal, such as brass. There are no rivets used in its construction but theparts are brazed or welded together so as toprovide practically a' one-piece casing. Air tubes F which are preferably hexagonal in shape, extend through the front and back part of the casing and are attached thereto in the manner hereinafter described. T The front and back parts are connected at suit able intervals and held firmly inplace by spacing bars G, applied in'the manner clearly indicated in Fig. 5. H indicates a baffle plate which is inclined .in opposite directions from its central portion, and it is formed with openings it through which water passes from the engine to the waterspace of the radiator around the tubes. The particular form of baffle plate shown is advantageous as the incoming water is, by such construction, thoroughlydistributed.

The front and back parts M and N of the casing are formed with openings m through which the tubes F extend and around each hole or opening m is formed a groove n. Each groove has between it and the hole 12 a web 0. Preferably the grooves n are hexagonal or polygonal in shape.

When the casing is being constructed, the space bars G are applied in the manner indicated. This gives rigidity to the casing and resists bending thereof when the tubes are being secured in place. Each tube in the casing when inserted, as shown at X in Fig. 5, is bent at its opposite ends, as indicated at Y, in such a way as to curl or crimp its ends around the web 0 and into the recess n. The engagement of the curved end of the tube and the curved wall of the recess is continuous and the parts are yieldingly held under pressure. The same is true of the web and the end of the tube. way the tubes are firmly connected with the casing and a perfect water-tight jolnt 1s made without the use of solder. Preferably the ends of the tubes and the grooved portions of the casing are tinned before the tubes are bent, and while I do not necessarily use solder such may be employed for additional security. All of the tubes are connected with the casing in the way above In this described, and it will be observed, by reference to Fig. 5, that each end of each tube makes contact with parts of the casing at several points, thus insuring a water-tight 'oint.

] A radiator of the kind described is extremely simple in construction. It is proof against leakage and there are no rivets employed to shake loose. here tubes are secured to av casing by solder some parts of the joints are often missed in soldering, causing the radiator to leak, but in constructing a radiator according to my invention it can readily be seen the connections are properly made and therefore danger of leakage by improper construction is avoided.

The casing may be made of sheet metal of suitable thickness to permit the grooves and webs above described to be formed. These can be produced by suitable tools and tools which I have provided very quickly and effectively turn the ends of the tubes into the grooves and interlock them with the webs.

I claim as my invention:

1. A radiator for automobiles, etc., com-- prising a casing having tube openings in its front and rear parts and formed with quadrant shaped grooves surrounding the tube openings but spaced therefrom to leave webs between the grooves and the tube openings, and tubes extending through the openings in the casing and crimped into the grooves so that the grooved end of each tube engages the curved portion of the groove" under yielding pressure and the web is bent outwardly.

2. In a radiator for automobiles, etc., a casing Wall, a tube opening therein, a groove with a curved wall surrounding the tube opening but spaced therefrom to leave a web between the groove and the tube opening, and a tube extending through the opening and having its end turned or criniped into contact with the curved wall of said groove, and abutting against the web which is bent outwardly so that the tube end and web interlock, thetube end engaging said wall and web under yielding pressure.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name. V V

ALBERT E. L. HENDERSON. 

